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Vernoscope

Vernoscope

The Vernoscope is a unique celebration of Jules Verne, the father of science fiction. Verne described Nautilus, his amazing submersible craft in Twenty thousand league under the sea, as “a masterpiece containing masterpieces” and the Vernoscope is no different.

It is a steampunk treasure trove also serving as a showcase for the first timepieces in four limited editions of Louis Moinet’s Jules Verne Instrument collection.

At 50cm wide and 50cm high, the Vernoscope is an impressive objet d’art bearing all the hallmarks of the type of retro-futurist creation coined by legendary author Verne.

Boasting a rich mahogany wood shell with riveted metal trimming, the Vernoscope contains elements of a futuristic engine room as though it had been imagined during the 19th century.

There are brass gears, copper pipes as well as valves and gauges that conjure images of the Victorian era.

On one side we even find a telephone with joint mouth- and ear-piece – the stuff of dreams during the steam age and symbolic of Verne’s predictive ability to imagine future inventions based on his superb understanding of science.

There are also a number small doors and niches revealing Verne-inspired gems, such as a beautiful model of the Earth’s moon hand-crafted by artist Jean-Yves Kervévan and adorned with particles from the rare Dhofar 459 lunar meteorite – a genuine piece of the moon that fell to Earth.

This model neatly evokes Verne’s 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon in which he envisaged with extraordinary accuracy details of the real-life moon-landing missions that would take place over a century later.

While Verne was a pioneer of science fiction, master watchmaker Louis Moinet was a horological legend. Both were icons of the 19th century. But what would have happened had their worlds come together?

The Jules Verne Instrument series is the answer to that enigma and the Vernoscope’s sides contain niches showcasing the first timepieces in four limited editions of this collection.

The Vernoscope presents Jules Verne Instrument 1 (black dial), Jules Verne Instrument 2 (silver dial) – both the first in limited editions of 60 – and the Jules Verne Instrument 1 (Havana dial) and Jules Verne Instrument 2 (midnight blue dial) – both the first in limited editions of 12 and both with a special hand-engraved ‘crater’ rotor.

Jules Verne Instrument 1 (Havana dial); Jules Verne Instrument 2 (midnight blue dial); both the first in limited editions of 12; both with a special hand-engraved ‘crater’ rotor

50cm wide x 50cm high

Retro futurist design

A rich mahogany wood shell with riveted metal trimming

Contains elements of a futuristic engine room as though it had been imagined during the 19th century

Brass gears, copper pipes as well as valves and gauges that conjure images of the Victorian era

A number small doors and niches revealing Verne-inspired gems

These include a beautiful model of the Earth’s moon hand-crafted by artist Jean-Yves Kervévan and adorned with particles from the rare Dhofar 459 lunar meteorite – a genuine piece of the moon that fell to Earth